What is now the metropolitan area of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez was first part of Spain and then of Mexico for nearly 300 years. The first settlement was founded south of the Rio Grande as El Paso del Norte by conquistadors in 1659.

El Paso didn't become part of the United States until it was seized during the Mexican-American War. More than 80 percent of El Paso residents are of Latino descent.

In fact, I laugh about the deOK,0010.02þbate over illegal immigration. The original illegal immigrants in Texas were Anglos, who broke the law and dared the legitimate government of Mexico to do anything about it.

Escalating tensions led to a revolt by Anglo settlers in Texas in 1836. El Paso was too far west and south to be caught up in that, and remained part of Mexico until the United States provoked the war in 1846 that was little more than a calculated land grab.

As a result, the border between the countries was redrawn in 1848. What had been one settlement in Mexico became two, with an international border running between them.

Now, the combined metropolitan area has more than 2 million residents, about two-thirds of those in Juarez.

Traditionally, Juarez has been a popular tourist destination. But Sun Bowl fans have been advised to stay on the U.S. side of the border because of a war over the illicit drug trade that has contributed to nearly 1,600 homicides there this calendar year.